Vows
by thisisforyou
Summary: He'd sworn he'd never let it happen. But things had a strange way of happening in spite of his hasty, foolish vows. Crowley was in an odd position. Light and fluffy oneshot, Gilan/OC


**A/N: I wrote this at work. I was so bored. I'll probably take it down after a while. Anyway, enjoy, reviews and feedback always appreciated. Especially if you don't want me to take this down.**

Three weeks ago, if a Ranger had asked Crowley for his daughter's hand in marriage, he would have laughed bitterly, a laugh that didn't reach his eyes, and slammed the door in his face.

Funny how circumstances change. A year ago, Crowley wouldn't have allowed one of his Rangers to marry, full stop, but now Halt, the elite of the Corps, was ensconced in Castle Araluen with his new spouse.

He wasn't much of a man of his word. He'd even sworn, once upon a time, that his daughter would never become involved in the sort of life her family led.

Okay, that one was doomed to failure from the get-go. But he had tried, pushing her into occupations better suited to a high-born lady. Lady Pauline herself had tried to train her in a Courier's art. And while Chastity Crowley _had_ learned the scholar's ways, and learned them well, she wasn't happy. And he couldn't be left with an unhappy daughter.

It was when she ran away to Battleschool that he felt he had to give in. Well, really. _Battleschool. _Of all the places. So he'd recovered her from a reluctant Sir Rodney – the child had won him over with her smooth talking and her eagerness to learn – and packed her off to his most trusted Ranger with the instruction, _knock this foolishness out of her._

A sillier man than he would have known that Halt would do no such thing. And when eleven years passed without Chastity's return, he'd had to concede that maybe Ranger was in her blood too deeply to be knocked out.

And then there was that nonsense with the Scandians. Nobody could say she hadn't earned her Oakleaf. She'd done more than most Rangers manage in their entire lives just in the course of her apprenticeship. And then King Duncan had put a word in her favour. Araluen would never have respected him again had he refused her.

Sometimes chance just wasn't on your side, Crowley reasoned to himself. And it looked like this was another of those moments. She'd known the boy most of her life, lived with him for five years. At least it wasn't some jumped-up knight fresh out of Battleschool, wanting a prize to hang off his arm. He knew the Ranger well. If anyone was worthy of his daughter, it was him.

But Crowley had only just won her back. She'd been living with him for three short weeks, not including the time he'd bitten his nails alone while she was off on some rescue mission in the middle of the Arridi desert. He couldn't get used to the idea that his baby risked her life every day in her new trade, the one he had given her.

"Oh, but I am fortune's fool," he murmured to himself, pleased with the reference.

The tall, lanky and admittedly handsome Ranger in front of him looked up nervously. "Sorry, sir?" Crowley shook his head to dismiss the comment. It hadn't meant anything anyway.

"I can't give her up, you know," he said sadly. "She's all I have."

The Ranger hesitated. "With respect, sir, I wouldn't be taking her away."

Crowley frowned at the polite, formal address. The boy was usually a fountain of misplaced wit and sarcasm, greeting him by name as though their stations were equal. Which, ideally, they were. He must be terribly nervous. He grunted unhelpfully. "What will happen to your position in the Corps? You both have separate fiefs."

The boy hung his red head. "I know. I… was hoping you'd have a solution."

Crowley raised a condescending eyebrow. "You come here and ask me for my daughter, and you expect _me_ to come up with a whole new arrangement for the Ranger Corps just for you two? Good Lord, boy, you don't ask for much."

A flash of the informal boy he'd known showed through the nerves in a grin. "Sorry. But sir, you don't want Chastity in the Corps anyway. Maybe we could represent the same fief. Then I'd be able to keep her safe for you."

The other eyebrow shot skywards. The Ranger dipped his head again. "Well, at least I'll be there with her when she throws herself into danger."

Crowley had to smile. The red-haired boy's green eyes were sparkling as he thought of his intended fiancée's fervour for everything in life. He really did look as though he loved her. If she loved him, too, how could he stop them?

But he'd vowed never to let her go.

But if he didn't, she'd run away again. He knew his daughter. She'd never let him stand in her way before. If she wanted to marry this man, she'd marry him, parental consent or not. The question was, would he do the same?

"What if I say no?" he asked slowly. The Ranger's face fell.

"I… I dunno. Being a Ranger is everything to both of us and if we get married without your consent… even if you don't know about it, one of us will have to give that up." He bit his lip sadly. "We've been seeing each other for years now, sir," he explained, his eyes lighting up at the thought. "Since Morgorath was defeated. I love her."

Not even a suggestion of not marrying, Crowley noticed with satisfaction. And the clarity in the man's face when he'd said he loved her was almost beautiful.

Damn. It looked like he'd lost her already.

Keeping his stern frown fixed firmly in place, he let the silence hang for a little while longer. Then the door to Crowley's cottage opened suddenly and Chastity walked in, laughing, face flushed and ruddy from the wind outside. She saw the tense expressions on both men's faces and stopped dead.

"Gilan," she said in pleased surprise. "What are you doing here?" Her bright eyes travelled from the Ranger to the Commandant and back. "You told him," she stated sadly.

Gilan's green eyes lowered and he opened his mouth, but nothing came out. "I thought we were going to do it together?" Chastity said disappointedly.

"Well…" the boy stuttered. "We were, but I…"Commandant Crowley was caught by the sudden feeling that he'd missed something, that there was a vital piece of information here that someone had neglected to tell him. He looked at Gilan expectantly. The poor boy looked close to tears, as though his most cunning plan had just been ruined.

And suddenly Crowley realised what had gone wrong. They weren't already married, as he'd first thought when she came in, or even engaged. He suppressed a sigh of relief, but couldn't stop the smile that spread slowly across his face. As Gilan glanced at him again, he grinned and nodded. As much as it hurt to give his daughter away, the Ranger was the only man he'd trust to keep her happy.

And he had to admit, it did make him feel safer to know that she'd have someone by her side.

"Chastity…" the redhead stood up and took the girl's hands, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "Chastity, my darling, my love," he continued softly, gently sinking onto one knee. "Marry me."

She gasped, grinning delightedly. "Is that an order?"

"Yes."

Chastity looked at her father tentatively. "And you're okay with this?"

Crowley, touched that she had asked him before answering, shrugged. "Would I be able to stop you if I wasn't?" She smiled. "He loves you, darling. I can't ask more than that."

She gave a shriek of delight. Gilan stood up triumphantly and she threw herself into his arms. Crowley turned away, chuckling. Oh, dear. That would take some getting used to.

It was a while before a tentative voice called to him. "Dad?" he turned around. "What's going to happen to us?"

He sighed. More paper-shuffling. "Will Reacher's apprentice sits his final tests in three weeks. I was going to reshuffle the Corps anyway after Will Treaty's report on Macindaw." He took a deep breath and looked them both in the eye. "I'm giving you Norgate Fief. To share. It's a large fief, and a key strategic position. After what happened with Keren, I wouldn't trust anyone else."

There was silence, then Chastity ran up to him and hugged him. "Thanks, Dad," she said softly. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he said earnestly. "I'm just not the only one anymore." Father and daughter grinned at each other for a moment. "Now, off you go. Don't you two have a wedding to plan, or something?"

With a flash of a smile, Crowley's two favourite young Rangers left arm in arm and he was alone to contemplate what he'd done.

Another vow gone. Honestly. Next thing you knew, he'd be marrying someone himself.


End file.
